Aberbargoed
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  Aberbargoed Location withinCaerphilly | |
| Population | 9,184 |
| OS grid reference | SO155005 |
| Principal area | |
| Preserved county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BARGOED |
| Postcode district | CF81 |
| Dialling code | 01443 |
| Police | Gwent |
| Fire | South Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| UK Parliament | |
| Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
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Aberbargoed (Welsh:Aberbargod) is atown in theCounty Borough of Caerphilly,Wales. Aberbargoed once contained the largest ever collierywaste tip in Europe,[2] although this has now been reclaimed and turned into acountry park. The town is within thehistoric boundaries ofMonmouthshire.
Aber refers to a "confluence" or "mouth" of a river andbargod is a "border".[3]
Coal mining operations in Bargoed Colliery started in 1897 when thePowell Duffryn Steam Coal Company started to sink the shaft. In 1901, the "Ras Las" nine-foot seam was discovered at a depth of 625 yards. The north and south shafts were completed. In November 1903,Sir Alfred Thomas, MP forEast Glamorgan, started the engines to raise the first four trams of coal. By 1910, the pit was employing 1,943 miners and was the largest coal mine in theRhymney Valley. On 10 December 1908, it broke the world record for production when a ten-hour shift produced 3,562tons ofcoal. It further broke its own record on 23 April 1909 when 4,020 tons were raised in a ten-hour shift. Bargoed Colliery closed on 4 June 1977. By this time, only 360 men were employed there.
The population of Pont Aberbargoed was 351 in thecensus of 1851. Aberbargoed reached a peak in 1961 of 5,157, and had dropped to 3,882 according to the 1991 Census.[4]
The coal-mining waste tip that lay betweenBargoed and Aberbargoed once towered to a height of 400 feet in the 1970s. The local school had aPlant a tree in '73 campaign in an attempt to make it more pleasurable on the eye. The tip has now been levelled and the area has been reclaimed with walkways. The colliery has gone and is now home to an ambulance station and various small industries. There are also developments with a new retail outlet in the area where the tip once stood.
The large tip atBedwellty is still there, but has been grassed over and now looks much like the surrounding countryside. Aberbargoed now has an extensive area of grasslands that are protected due to the finding of the raremarsh fritillarybutterfly,Euphydryas aurinia in themarshy area north of where Bedwellty School once stood. Recently theA469 Bargoed bypass was constructed through the park.
James, Paul (2002).The History of Bargoed, Gilfach and Aberbargoed in Photographs, Vol. 3. Old Bakehouse Publications.ISBN 1-874538-64-6.
Gelligaer Historical Society (1972).Gelligaer. Gelligaer Historical Society.
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